Memorial University's new core science building will open in a matter of weeks, six years after builders first broke ground on the $325-million project.

Work on the hulking, ice-white structure in St. John's started in late 2015. After a number of delays, including a stop-work order over physical distancing during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the building is set to welcome students for the fall semester.

Reporters were among the first to see the near-finished building last week, so let's take you inside.

The five-storey building covers about 480,000 square feet. It features 190 laboratory fume hoods, 250 sinks and over three kilometres of countertop for students and faculty to use in experiments.

Mark Abrahams, MUN's academic vice-president, has been involved with the project for over a decade. He called working on the building "a once-in-a-career opportunity."

"You're trying to describe what goes on in science for the next 50 to 100 years," Abrahams said.

"[The old building] was designed around a time when we really didn't have any understanding of the nature of science, what science was going to do over the next 50 years. So our challenge in designing this building was to make it as flexible and futureproof as possible."

The building will replace the school's old science building, which opened in 1963. The old building will likely be torn down in time, according to Abrahams.

According to Dr Sherri Christian, a biochemistry professor, the new space will allow safer labs that are more interactive and free-flowing.

The science building houses two new chemistry labs for first-year students, and will see more than 1,200 bodies pass through its doors per week.

The other lab features walls made entirely of glass, granting students a wide view of Pippy Park in St. John's.